Jeff Crouere: Some 3/31 Incumbents are Home Free

With an election set for March 31, Covington
Mayor Candace Watkins assumed she would face competition. She walked
her district, sent out a slick mailer to the voters of her city and
prepared for a heated race for re-election. Alas, the preparation may
have scared off other candidates, as none materialized by the end of
qualifying. The most formidable potential challenger for Watkins, a
Republican, was former Mayor Keith Villere, a Democrat. Villere said he
was encouraged to run and seriously considered whether to run, but
ultimately decided to forgo the race. So, Watkins officially won
re-election to another four year term in office when no candidate
qualified against her. Watkins, is not only the first female Mayor of Covington, she is also the first Republican Mayor of Covington , which is surprising considering the conservative disposition of Covington
voters. With her easy re-election, Watkins becomes the first mayor in
almost forty years to win re-election unopposed. In her first term,
Watkins was quite busy managing the many post-Katrina challenges in Covington
from growth to infrastructure improvements. She has also had to deal
with a major fire at the Covington City Hall and a move to a temporary
facility. Through it all, Watkins has remained optimistic and motivated
to complete her mission of â€œbalancing progress and preservation.â€
Although at times she has tangled with St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, Watkins has no plans to run
against Davis or anyone else for that matter. She has plenty of challenges to deal with as Mayor of Covington.

Joining Watkins in winning an easy re-election was Covington
Council members Lee Alexius and Clarence Romage who were also
re-elected without opposition. The other council positions will be
contested, with the at-large seats drawing the most interest. Five
candidates have qualified for the two at-large positions. Former
District B Councilman Jerry Lee Coner, independent, who served four
terms in that post, is making his second attempt at the citywide
office. Another former council member also entered the race, Republican
Lee Roy Jenkins, who served on the Covington
Council for 24 years in the at-large position. Jenkins is the President of the Covington Lions Club and twice ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Covington.
Also entering the fray is high profile civil rights leader and attorney
Annie Spell, who is the former President of the Greater Covington
Chapter of the NAACP. Spell, a Democrat, and her husband Buddy
represented anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and protested with her in Crawford , Texas . According to Spell, â€œA post-Katrina world calls for a new, progressive voice on the City Council.â€

The three challengers will face two Republican incumbents, at-large councilman Matt Faust and District C councilman W.T.
â€œTreyâ€ Blackall, III.The other at-large council member Pat Clanton decided not to run for re-election. Faust was just elected President of the St. Tammany
Municipal Association and has served as Council Chairman. Blackall
works for Gulf Mechanical and has been a strong proponent for
infrastructure improvements in Covington , including the widening of the Highway 21 Bridge.

The
three contested district races have just two candidates, so there will
be no run-off. In District A two Democrats face-off, incumbent Guy Williams
and Frances Dunn. Williams is a school system employee who was involved
in a minor controversy back in January of 2006. He was found
unconscious on a Covington city street and police cited the councilman
for public intoxication. Later, a prosecutor dismissed the charges
stating that he was charged improperly. Williams claimed that the
problem stemmed from his failure to take prescription medication
combined with a few drinks, as opposed to a case of drunkenness. His
opponent, Frances Dunn, is a well known civil rights activist, who
serves as Secretary of the Covington Chapter of the NAACP and recently chaired a large celebration in Covington to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In
the other two districts, there is a partisan battle as a Republican
faces a Democrat. In District C, the seat being vacated by at-large
candidate Trey Blackall, Democrat Floyd â€œBobeâ€ Parker, a forty year
resident of Covington
, will face Republican Mark Sacco, a local banker. In District D,
incumbent Jan Robert decided not to run for re-election, creating an
open seat. In this race, Democrat Marty Benoit, a renowned artist,
squares off against Republican homemaker and first time candidate Renda
Blossman Simoneaux.

With no mayoral election, voter turnout in Covington
will undoubtedly be low. So, the candidates that win will have to be
successful in motivating their voters to go to the polls. A solid get
out the vote effort will be crucial in this election. If needed, the
run-off for the at-large positions will be held on May 5.

Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana
based program, â€œRingside Politics,â€ which airs at 8:30 p.m. Fri. and
10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and Noon till 2 p.m.
weekdays on several Louisiana radio stations. For more information,
visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.